Leslie Knope: The Role Of Patriarchy In Parks And Recreation

In the genre of political television programs, most shows are noted for their serious and dramatic acting and plot. Many of those shows have a male as the main character while the women are noted to be minor, yet important characters to the plot. That is not the case for the popular series Parks and Recreation (2009 - 2015). Based in small town Pawnee, Indiana the show centers around the life of government workers in the parks department. The series presents issues of feminism, and patriarchy. Parks and Recreation is unique in its category because of the cinematic way she show was filmed, the feminist approach the main actress had on her character and the exploitation of patriarchy all while being written as a satire. Unlike other political related series , television shows such as The Newsroom(2012-2014) differs from Parks and Recs because of …show more content…
In her memoir she recalled the time Schur had send her the script, writing “This had proven me correct. He send me the script and it took me five minutes to realize Leslie Knope was the best character ever written for me.” She praises individuality and equality which made her perfect to fulfill the role of Leslie Knope.
Since her personal beliefs were so strong, it benefitted her character into having a more real life approach. According to Poehler, she felt like she was able to control and personify her character on the show. The characteristics of Leslie Knope also transcend into the setting. Her office is covered with pictures of women who she finds influential such as Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and even includes a photo of herself. It is even noted in an episode where she is giving a tour of her office, she mentions how she is her own hero and finds herself to be a powerful